Hiccup's seventy-foot-long secret
by Feyregalathynius
Summary: How does Hiccup possessing magical healing hair affect the story of HTTYD? Fem!Hiccup(Hiccup)Male!Astrid(Ash). Rated T for description of injury later on (I think you guys know which injury I mean). Sorry I suck at summaries.
1. Raid, Rejection and Relief

Chapter one: Raid, Rejection and Relief;

A fourteen year old girl sat alone in a cave at the top of a cliff miles above the town. She was leaning out of her window, her seventy-foot-long auburn hair strewn about the room.

"_**Seven a.m., the usual morning lineup." **_She sang. "_**Start on the chores and sweep 'till the floor's all clean. Polish and wax, do laundry and mop and shine up.**_

_**Sweep again and by then it's like 07:15 and so I'll read a book. Or maybe two or three. I'll add a few new paintings to my gallery. I'll play guitar and knit and cook and basically just wonder when will my life begin?**_

_**Then after lunch it's puzzles and darts and baking. Papier maché, a bit of ballet and chess. Pottery and ventriloquy, candle making. Then I'll stretch, maybe sketch, take a climb, sew a dress!**_

_**And I'll re-read the books, if I have time to spare. I'll paint the walls some more - I'm sure there's room somewhere. **_

_**And then I'll brush and brush and brush and brush my hair, stuck in the same place I've always been. **_

_**And I'll keep wonderin' and wonderin' and wonderin' and wonderin'...**_

_**When will my life begin?**_

_**And tomorrow night, the dragons will appear.**_

_**Just like they do on my birthday each year.**_

_**What is it like, out there where they fly?**_

_**Now that I'm older, Father might just let me go..."**_

Sighing, she turned inside and got to work.

The following evening, the same girl peered out of the same window, contemplating the village and it's inhabitants.

_This, is Berk._ She thought. _It's twelve days north of hopeless, and a few degrees south of freezing to death. It's located solidly on the meridian of misery._ She let out a small sigh. _My village. In a word, sturdy. And it's been here for seven generations, but every single building is new._ _We have fishing, hunting, and a charming view of the sunsets. The only problems are the pests. You see, most places have mice or mosquitos. We have..._

The girl watched as the sheep grazed peacefully on a hillside. Suddenly one disappeared. She stepped back, staring at the hoard she could now see descending on the town. Exactly as expected.

_...dragons._

She ran to the other side of the room, where a person-sized window lay, a hook hanging from an outcropping just above it. She swung her hair around the hook and used it as a rope, sliding down the cliff face into a secluded valley. There, she grabbed a string that was attached to a nail in the cliff (obviously placed there on purpose) and used it to knot her hair so that it stopped at her ankles. She ran through a tunnel concealed with ivy and into the village. She weaved through the erupting mayhem as Vikings poured out of the buildings, ready for a fight.

_Most people would leave. Not us. We're Vikings. We have... stubbornness issues._ She observed as Vikings sounded the alarm. Viking men and women poured out into the streets, axes in hand.

The girl darted through alleys and stayed under eaves, making her way through the battle.

_My name's Hiccup. Great name, I know. But it's not the worst. Parents believe a hideous name will frighten off gnomes and trolls. Like our charming Viking demeanour wouldn't do that._

Dragons swept back and forth, dodging axes and blasting the Vikings who threw them. A burly warrior was tossed in an explosion, knocking Hiccup to the ground.

"Arggghhhhh!" He screamed, then smiled broadly. "Mornin'!" Hiccup simply got to her feet and continued to rush past gigantic men and women. As she passed, people yelled to her.

"What are you doing out!?"

"Get inside!"

"Get back inside!" Oh, the wonderful greetings of the townsfolk.

She passed a silent ox of a viking, picking his ear. No comment is made.

A man walked from between two houses in front of her. He had bright green eyes and flame-red hair, tied in a huge (plaited) beard. He wore a bearskin cloak and was the biggest Viking of all. He yanked Hiccup from the path of a strafing dragon and held her aloft to the crowd.

"Hiccup!?" He yelled. Then he spoke accusingly to the crowd. "What is she doing out again?!" Then he turned to the girl in question. "What are you doing out?! Get inside!" She didn't bother to point out that she was always yelled at if she DIDN'T go to help in the blacksmith's...

The flames lit up his scowling face and matted red beard. He set Hiccup down and turned to the sky, searching.

_That's Stoick the Vast._ She thought in awe, _Chief of the tribe. They say that when he was a baby he popped a dragon's head clean off of its shoulders. Do I believe it?_

Stoick grabbed a wooden cart and hurled it, knocking the strafing dragon out of the sky.

_Yes I do._ She ran off as an explosion forced Vikings to duck. Stoick stood firm, brushing flaming debris off of his shoulder.

"What have we got?" Stoick barked to his men.

"Gronkles. Nadders. Zipplebacks. Oh, and Hoark saw a Monstrous Nightmare."

"Any Night Furies?"

"None so far."

"Good." Stoick sighed, relieved.

"Hoist the torches!" Someone in the square yelled. Massive flaming braziers were raised on poles, lighting up the night sky... and revealing swirling dragons of all types. Below, Hiccup crossed an open plaza and ducked into an open building with a tall chimney. She crosses behind a counter, where a peg-legged, one-armed hulk of a Blacksmith reshapes blades with a hammer and tongs appendage.

"Ah! Nice of you to join the party. I thought you'd been carried off." He announced. Hiccup donned a leather apron and started to put away the blacksmith's scattered appendages.

"Who me?" She asked. "Nah, come on! I'm _way_ too muscular for their taste. They wouldn't know what to do with all this." She struck a bodybuilder pose.

"They need toothpicks, don't they?" He asked. Hiccup got to work, transferring bent and chipped weapons to the forged as Vikings crowd the counter for replacements.

_The meathead with attitude and interchangeable hands is Gobber._ She thought. _I've been his apprentice ever since I was little. Well... littler._

On the lower plain, Stoick was giving orders.

"We move to the lower defenses." He announced. "We'll counter-attack with the catapults."

Armed men rushed past, flanking others who carry sheep to safety. Stoick followed up the rear as, overhead, a dragon strafed the rooftops with Napalm-like fire.

_See? Old village. Lots and lots of new houses. _She thought.

"FIRE!" Someone yelled. In response, the fire brigade charged through the plaza - four teens, tugging a large wooden cask on wheels. From it, they filled buckets of water to douse the flames. One among them was a cute, energetic Viking boy. Hiccup leaned out of the stall to watch him.

_Oh and that's Fishlegs, Snotlout. The twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut. And... Ash._

An explosion erupted behind him, framing him in a sexy ball of fire. The others joined him, looking awesome and heroic. _Oh, their job is so much cooler._

Hiccup tried to join them as they passed, but she was hooked by Gobber and hoisted back inside.

"Ah, come on. Let me out, please. I need to make my mark!" She begged

"Oh, you've made plenty of marks. All in the wrong places!" Gobber countered.

"Please, two minutes. I'll kill a dragon. My life will get infinitely better. I might even get a date!" She pleaded, despite knowing that even if she did kill a dragon her dad would never let her tell anyone about her hair.

"You can't lift a hammer. You can't swing an axe..." Gobber grabbed a bola (iron balls connected by rope), "...you can't even throw one of these."

A Viking ran by and nabbed it out of Gobber's hand, hurling it at a dive-bombing Gronkle. The bola binds it's legs, sending it into a heavy crash. Hiccup, however, was ready with an answer.

"Okay fine, but..." she rushed to the back corner of the stall and presented a bizarre, wheelbarrow-like contraption, "...this will throw it for me." Hiccup opened the hinged lid of the device. An arm sprang up, equipped with twin bows. They prematurely launched a bola, narrowly missing Gobber... and taking out a Viking at the counter.

"Arggh!"

"See, now this right here is what I'm talking about." Gobber pronounced.

"Mild calibration issue..." Hiccup argued.

"Hiccup. If you ever want to get out there to fight dragons, you need to stop all..." he gestured in her general direction. "...this." She was astonished.

"But... you just gestured to _all_ of me."

"Yes! That's it!" He cheered. "Stop being all of you."

"Ohhhh..." Hiccup hissed, threateningly.

"Ohhhhh, yes." Gobber replied, mimicking her.

"You, sir, are playing a dangerous game." She told him. "Keeping this much raw... Vikingness contained... there will be consequences!" She announced, wagging a finger in his face. He just tossed her a sword.

"I'll take my chances. Sword. Sharpen. Now." Hiccup took it begrudgingly and lobbed it onto the grinding wheel. She stewed... fantasising...

_One day I'll get out there. Because killing a dragon is __everything_ _around here._

On the lower plain, Nadders landed, gathering like seagulls around a seemingly vacant house. _A Nadder head is sure to get me at least noticed._ She thought. The Nadders clambered onto the building, tearing the roof and walls apart. Sheep poured out and scattered. Elsewhere, hippo-like Gronckles picked drying racks clean of fish and flew off like loaded pelicans. _Gronckles are tough. Taking down one of those would definitely get me a boyfriend._ A stealthy, snake-like dragon head peeked over a rooftop, breathing gas into a chimney. _A Zippelback? Exotic, exciting. Two heads, twice the status._ A second head poked through the door and lit it. The resulting explosion blew the house to pieces.

The two heads flew through the explosion, their necks zipping together to reveal a single body. It flew past Stoick as he climbed to the top of a catapult tower.

"They found the sheep!" The catapult operator called.

"Concentrate fire over the lower bank!" Stoick yelled, frustrated.

"Fire!" Boulders were catapulted at the corralling Nadders... just as a huge red dragon whipped past, spraying the base of the catapult with sticky fire. _And then there's the Monstrous Nightmare. Only the best Vikings go after those. They have this nasty habit of setting themselves on fire._

It emerged from the flames, climbing the catapult with a leering, toothy grin.

"Reload!" Stoick ordered. "I'll take care of this." He took on the Nightmare, face to hammer. Suddenly, a loud ballistic moaning streaked overhead. The catapult crew ducked.

In the blacksmith's stall, Hiccup looked up from her work, reacting to the same sound.

_But the ultimate prize is the dragon no one has ever seen. We call it the-_

"Night Fury! Get down!" Vikings everywhere took shelter. The moaning sound continued to build.

Back at the catapult tower, the Monstrous Nightmare suddenly stopped fighting and took flight. Stoick looked skyward.

"JUMP!"

The Catapult exploded, sending Stoick and the crew leaping for their lives.

_This thing never steals food, never shows itself, and..._

The sound receded, leaving the crippled catapult in flames.

_...never misses. No one has ever killed a Night Fury. That's why I'm going to be the first._

In the stall, Gobber traded his hammer for an axe.

"Man the fort, Hiccup, they need me out there!" He announced. Then he paused, turning with a threatening glare. "Stay. Put. There. You know what I mean." He ordered.

He charged into the fray, hollering.

A smirk crossed Hiccup's face.

Moments later, Hiccup was pushing her wheeled contraption through a wall of clustered Vikings. She weaved through the ongoing mayhem as fast as her legs could carry her.

"Hiccup, where are you going!" Someone yelled.

"Come back here!"

"I know." She replied. "Be right back!"

The Nadders had cornered the house-full of sheep. They closed in, ready to spring them. Stoick suddenly appeared, hurling fishing nets over them. The surprised Nadders were caught. Stoick and his men rushed in. A Nadder blasted a hole through its net. Stoick leaped onto it, clamping his thick arms around its head, forcing its jaws shut.

"Mind yourselves! The devils still have some juice in them!" Stoick called.

Hiccup reached a cliff overlooking the smoking catapult and dropped the handles to the ground. She cranked several levers, unfolding and then cocking the bowed arms of her contraption. She dropped a bola onto a chamber and then pivoted the weapon on a gimbal head toward the dark sky. She listened, with her eye pressed to the scope, hand poised on the trigger. She hears the Night Fury approaching... and turned her aim to the defense tower. It closed in for the final strike, completely camouflaged in the night.

"Come on. Give me something to shoot at, give me something to shoot at." She murmured.

The tower topples. The blast of fire illuminated the dragon for a split second. Hiccup pulled the trigger. The flexed arms snapped forward, springing the weapon off the ground. The bola disappeared into the sky, followed by a whack and a screech.

"Oh, I hit it!" Hiccup cried. "Yes, I hit it! Did anybody see that?" Her victory was short-lived. A Monstrous Nightmare appeared, slithering up over the lip of the cliff.

"Except for you."

At this point, Stoick was holding down the netted Nadders. He heard a familiar holler and looked up to see... Hiccup, running through the plaza, screaming, with the nightmare fast on her heels. Alarmed, Stoick abandoned the Nadders and ran off.

"Do not let them escape!" He ordered, pointing at the Nadders.

In the plaza, Vikings scattered as Hiccup dodged a near-fatal blast. The Nightmare's sticky, Napalm-like fire splashed up onto buildings, setting them alight. Hiccup ducked behind the last standing brazier - the only shelter available. The Nightmare blasted it, spraying fire all around her. Hiccup peered around the smoldering post. No sign of the Nightmare. She turned back to find it leering at her, blocking her escape. It took a deep breath. Hiccup was finished. Suddenly, Stoick leapt between them, tackling the Nightmare to the ground. They tumbled and wrestled, resuming their earlier fight. The Nightmare tried to toast him, but only coughed up smoke.

"You're all out." Stoick gloated. He smashed the Nightmare repeatedly in the face, driving it away. It took to the air and disappeared. Winded, Stoick turned to Hiccup.

_Oh, and there's one more thing you need to know..._

The burnt brazier pole collapsed, sending the massive iron basket crashing. It bounced down the hill, destroying as it goes and scattering the Vikings who were holding down the netted Nadders. The freed dragons escaped... with several sheep in tow. Hiccup winced at every bang and crash.

"Sorry, dad." She apologised quietly.

The escaped Nadders flew past with sheep in their clutches. The raid was over. The dragons had clearly won. The murmuring crowd eyed Stoick, awaiting his response. "Okay, but I hit a Night Fury." Hiccup tried. Stoick grabbed her by the back scruff of her collar and hauled her away, fuming with embarrassment.

"It's not like the last few times, Dad. I mean I really actually hit it. You guys were busy and I had a very clear shot. It went down, just off Raven Point. Let's get a search party out there, before it-"

"STOP! Just... stop." Stoick interrupted. He released Hiccup. Everyone went silent, staring expectantly.

"Every time you step outside, disaster follows. Can you not see that I have bigger problems? Winter's almost here and I have an entire village to feed!" Hiccup looked around. All eyes were upon her.

"Between you and me, the village could do with a little less feeding, don't ya think?" Hiccup pointed out. A few rotund Vikings stirred self-consciously.

"This isn't a joke, Hiccup!" He yelled, exasperated. "Why can't you follow the simplest orders?"

"I can't stop myself. I see a dragon and I have to just... kill it, you know? It's who I am, Dad!" She cried.

"You are many things, Hiccup. But a dragon killer is not one of them." Ouch. Her dad had always told her that the only thing worth being was a dragon killer. She looked around to see many nods of agreement. "Get back to the house." He ordered, turning to Gobber. "Make sure she gets there. I have her mess to clean up." Stoick lumbered off in the opposite direction.

Gobber lead Hiccup through the walk of shame. They passed the teen fire brigade as they snickered.

"Quite the performance." Tuffnut 'congratulated'.

"I've never seen anyone mess up that badly. That helped!" Snotlout taunted.

"Thank you, thank you." She replied sarcastically. "I was trying, so..." Hiccup avoided Ash's glare and returned to the ivy-covered tunnel she had come through.

"I really did hit one." She announced.

"Sure, Hiccup."

"He never listens." She ignored Gobber and continued.

"Well, it runs in the family."

"And when he does, it's always with this... disappointed scowl. Like someone skimped on the meat in his sandwich." She stood taller, puffing out her chest and perfectly mimicked her father's voice. "Excuse me, barmaid. I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring. I ordered an extra large boy with beefy arms. Extra guts and glory on the side. This here. This _girl_ is a talking fish bone."

"You're thinking about this all wrong." Gobble told her. "It's not so much what you look like. It's what's inside that he can't stand." There was a pregnant pause as Hiccup took a minute to fully process what Gobber had told her.

"Thank you for summing that up." She deadpanned as they reached the spot of earth underneath where the hook was just visible sticking out from the cliff.

"Look, the point is, stop trying so hard to be something you're not." Gobble advised. Hiccup sighed heavily.

"I just want to be one of you guys." She pointed out. Before he could say anything, she pulled the string from her hair and tied it round the nail. He eyed her sympathetically as she threw her hair around the hook and pulled herself up. She looked around her cave-room and looked outside the far window, watching her father order repair efforts.

_**"Maybe I make things a mess, and maybe you're right to have doubts in me. Maybe, but nevertheless, if you for once could just trust me." **_She sang. "_**Just this once, let me come through for you, the way that you want me to.**_

_**Let me make you proud!**_

_**Let me show you the best in me!**_

_**Let me give you a reason to believe that I can stand tall." **_She walked over to her desk, and pulled out two things: a journal - open to a map of the woods around Raven's Point - and the first dagger she ever made. "_**And when I return, and I'm more than you dreamt I'd be, maybe then you will realise that you never actually knew me at all." **_She slid down her hair to the forest floor. "_**Sure, I've made lots of mistakes. I know that I've disappointed you. Still, though, whatever it takes, I'm gonna fix it, just watch me." **_She pulled her hair up in the string.

"_**Just you wait, I'll make it up to you.**_

_**If it's the last thing I ever do.**_

_**I will make you proud.**_

_**I will make you have faith in me.**_

_**I will prove that the way I used to be is all in the past.**_

_**I will kill the Night Fury,**_

_**And come back here triumphantly.**_

_**'Cause I long for that look of surprise when you see your girl rising at last.**_

_**The pride in your eyes when you see your girl rising at last."**_

She hurried off into the woods, determined.


	2. Dragons freed and Dragons to be killed

Chapter two; Dragon Freed and Dragons to be Killed:

A drawn map of the island, covered in X's. Hiccup looked up from it and peeked over a gorge expectantly. She saw nothing.

She added another 'X' to the page, then scratched her pencil over the whole map in frustration. She snapped the book closed and pocketed it.

"Uggh, the gods hate me." She groaned. "Some people lose their knife or their mug. No, not me. I manage to lose an entire dragon!" Hiccup whacked a low-hanging branch. It snapped back at her, hitting her in the face. She looked up to see a snapped tree trunk. Her eyes followed it to a long trench of up-turned earth.

She followed it to a downed, black dragon, its body and tail tangled in a bola. It appeared dead. Hiccup approached, beaming.

"Oh wow. I did it. I did it. This-this fixes everything. Yes!" She struck a victory pose, planting her foot on the fallen Night Fury. "I have brought down this mighty beast!"

It suddenly shifted.

"Whoa!" Hiccup sprang back, terrified. She turned her blade on it. Rattled, she crept along the length of the weak, wounded dragon, dagger poised to strike.

As she reached the head, Hiccup finds the Night Fury staring coldly at her. She tried to look away, but she was drawn back to its unnerving, unflinching stare.

With the dragon safety tangled in the ropes, Hiccup jabs with her dagger, puffing herself up with false bravado.

"I'm going to kill you, Dragon. I'm gonna cut out your heart and take it to my father. I'm a Viking. I am a VIKING!"

She raised the dagger, determined to prove her Viking ness. The dragon's labored breathing broke her clenched concentration. She opened an eye, uncertainty leaking through. The dragon held the stare. Something profound was exchanged. Finally, the Night Fury closed its eye and lowered its head, resigned to its fate.

Hiccup tried to go through with it, holding the dagger aloft... fighting herself... until finally lowering it with a frustrated sigh. She looked over the dragon's chaffed rope wounds.

"I did this." She muttered, ashamed. She turned to leave. She paused and glanced back at the dragon, chest heaving.

Hiccup grumbled. She checked over her shoulder to ensure that no one was watching... then hurried back to cut the ropes. The Night Fury's eye shoots open. With the dragon watching her every move, Hiccup hurriedly sawed through the bola ropes.

As the last rope fell free, the Night Fury suddenly pounced!

In a blur, the dragon was upon her, pinning her down, grazing her neck. Looking like it was about to kill her. Hiccup was paralysed. The dragon's breath ruffled her hair. She opened her eyes to find the Night Fury's wolf-like stare boring into her. The exchange was intense, profound. The dragon drew a deep breath, as though it was about to torch her, then let out an ear-piercing scream instead. It turned and took flight, flapping violently through the canopy of trees. It bashed against a nearby mountainside, recovered, and dropped out of view some distance away. Winded, Hiccup struggled to her feet, staggered a few steps, collapsed to her knees, and fainted.

Hiccup had been hoping for a little alone time to process her thoughts when she got back to her cave. But her father had come to her hidden window and yelled that she come to his house, and that it was urgent. Groaning, she walked over to the window and swung down to the valley below. She tied her hair up and walked to her dad's house, the house where she had a bare room for show and nothing else, the house where she wasn't wanted.

Hiccup entered to see Stoick, seated on a thick slice of tree-trunk. He was slouched over the fire-pit, stirring the coals with his axe. Embers wafted around his beard.

She walked to the stairs and waited for her father to acknowledge her. This sometimes took a while.

"Hiccup."

"Dad. Uh..." he stood, taking a deep breath as she spoke, "...I, uh... I have to talk to you, Dad."

"I need to speak with you too, son." He replied. Hiccup and Stoick straightened at the same moment.

"I've decided I don't want to..."

"I think it's time you learn..."

"...fight dragons."

"...to fight dragons." There was a long pause.

"What?"

"What?"

"You go first." Stoick pushed.

"No, you go first." Hiccup deferred.

"Alright. You get your wish. Dragon training. You start in the morning." Hiccup scrambled to reply.

"Oh man, I should've gone first. Uh, 'cause I was thinking, you know, we have a surplus of dragon-fighting Vikings, but do we have enough bread-making Vikings, or small home REPAIR VIKINGS-"

"You'll need this." Stoick interrupted.

He handed Hiccup his axe. She avoided taking it.

"I don't want to fight dragons." Hiccup pleaded honestly.

"Come on. Yes, you do."

"Rephrase. Dad, I can't kill dragons."

"But you will kill dragons."

"No, I'm really very extra sure that I won't."

"It's time, Hiccup."

"Can you not hear me?"

"This is serious lass!" Stoick forced the axe into Hiccup's hands. Its weight dragged her down. She looked up to see Stoick under-lit with firelight.

"When you carry this axe... you carry all of us with you. Which means you walk like us. You talk like us. You think like us. No more of..." he gestured non-specifically at Hiccup, "...this."

"You just gestured to all of me!" She exclaimed.

"Deal?"

"This conversation is feeling very one-sided-"

"DEAL?!"

Hiccup glanced at the axe in her hands. It's a no-win argument.

"Deal." She sighed, resigned. Satisfied, Stoick grabbed his helmet and duffel bag... and headed for the door.

"Good. Train hard. I'll be back. Probably."

"And I'll be here." The door slammed shut. "Maybe."

Hiccup was still holding the axe.

Gobber raised a massive iron gate at the entrance of a vast stone arena.

"Welcome to dragon training!" The recruits filed through the gate, and out onto the arena floor. They took it in like gladiators entering the colosseum. The walls are covered in scorched silhouettes of blasted Vikings. It's a grim yet awe-inspiring place.

"No turning back." Ash sighed. This was it. He'd been waiting for this moment his whole life and he wasn't going to waste it now.

"I hope I get some serious burns." Of course Ruffnut would be the one to ruin the atmosphere.

"I'm hoping for some mauling, like on my shoulder or lower back." And of course her twin would agree.

"Yeah, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it." He quipped sarcastically.

"Yeah, no kidding, right? Pain. Love it." The recruits turned to see Hiccup behind them. Groans all around.

"Oh great. Who let her in?" Ash agreed with Tuffnut wholeheartedly. She couldn't even fight! (No, no, where did you get the idea that he was being protective? That's ludicrous... but also true...)

"Let's get started!" Gobble interrupted, "The recruit who does best will win the honour of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village." Ash was grinning now. This was his big break. If he got to kill that dragon, he could restore his family honour and win Hiccup's affections with one fell swoop!

Okay, I know what you're thinking, why would Ash Hofferson - the most skilled warrior of his generation - have a crush on the village runt who could barely lift an axe? Well, even though she was small, she was beautiful. Her flowing auburn hair dangled to her feet, framing her face, making her adorable freckles and innocent green eyes pop out. Plus, he would never have to worry about her surpassing him. But she was the chief's daughter. He was terrified of her overprotective dad and the Hoffersons weren't very well regarded since the Flightmare incident so he'd need to restore his family honour first.

"Hiccup already killed a Night Fury, so does that disqualify her or...?" Snotlout's comment brought Ash out of his reverie as the recruits laughed.

"Can I transfer to the class with the cool Vikings?" Ruffnut questioned. Maybe he could...

Before he could go and talk to Hiccup, Gobber threw a supportive arm around her and ushered her along.

Ash couldn't hear what Gobber said, but he assumed it was encouragement.

The blacksmith stuck her in line with the others and continued on toward five massive reinforced doors. Terrible roars and bellows issued from within. Ash focused his mind on the task at hand.

"Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight." Fishlegs bounces and giggled with excitement, barely able to contain herself. "The Deadly Nadder..."

"Speed eight. Armor sixteen..."

"...the Hideous Zippleback..."

"...plus eleven stealth times two..."

"...the Monstrous Nightmare..."

"...firepower fifteen..."

"...the Terrible Terror..."

"...attack eight, venom twelve..."

"CAN YOU STOP THAT?!" Gobber had finally had enough. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Fishlegs shut up. "And... the Gronckle." He finished.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ash spotted Fishlegs whisper to Hiccup and her nod to him. He wondered what that was about. But he didn't have time to dwell, because that was when Gobber pulled a lever, raising the cross-beam on the last of the doors.

"Whoa, wait! Aren't you gonna teach us first!?" Snotlout cried.

"I believe in learning on the job." Gobber replied with a sadistic grin. A gronckle thundered out of its cave, charging into the ring like an irate rhino.

The recruits scrambled in every direction. Except for Ruffnut and Tuffnut, who rushed toward it like pumped-up rodeo clowns.

"Today is about survival. If you get blasted, you're dead. Quick, what's the first thing you're going to need?"

"A doctor?" Hiccup asked, causing Ash to sigh in exasperation.

"Plus five speed?" Fishlegs tried. If it was about defence..

"A shield." Ash announced confidently.

"Shields. Go." Gobber confirmed. The recruits scrambled for shields, finding them scattered around the ring. Ash absorbed the information Gobber provided as he began to dodge blasts. "Your most important piece of equipment is your shield. If you must make a choice between a sword and a shield, take the shield.

Hiccup struggled to lift hers. Before Ash could dash over to her, Gobber had helped her and sent her running.

Ruff and Tuff stood amidst a dozen shields. But only one had a skull painted on it. They both grabbed it.

"Get your hands off my shield!" Tuffnut yelled

"There are like a million shields!" Ruffnut countered.

"Take that one, it has a flower on it. Girls like flowers." Tuffnut suggested. Ruffnut used the shield to bash Tuffnut in the face. He didn't let go.

"Ooops, now this one has blood on it." The Gronckle took aim at the distracted twins. The shield was blasted out of both of their hands. Tuff and Ruff spun like tops and fell down.

"Tuffnut, Ruffnut, you're out!" Gobber announced. _Serves them right, _Ash thought.

"What?!"

"What?!" The Gronckle scooped up a pile of rocks and swallowed them. The teens gathered on the far side of the ring.

"Those shields are good for another thing." Gobber advised. "Noise. Make lots of it to throw off a dragon's aim."

The kids scooped up weapons and began hammering on their shields. The Gronckle shook its head at the clatter.

"All dragons have a limited number of shots." Gobber lectured. "How many does a Gronckle have?"

"Five!" Snotlout yelled.

"No, six." Fishlegs corrected.

"Correct, six. That's one for each of you!"

"I really don't think my parents WOULD-" at this point in time, Fishlegs had her shield blasted away.

"Fishlegs, out." Ash then heard a,

"Hiccup, get in there!" _No, don't let her out here, she'll die!_

Snotlout appeared beside him, trying to hit on him.

"So anyway I'm moving into my parents' basement. You should come by sometime to work out. You look like you work out-" he cartwheeled out of the way, allowing a shot to shoot past him and hit Snotlout's shield. She was blasted onto her back.

"Snotlout! You're done!" Ash rolled to a stop beside Hiccup, who stirred awkwardly, trying to look cool.

"So, I guess it's just you and me, huh?" She asked, voice breaking.

"No. Just you." _Sorry, _Ash thought as he rolled away, _but I need to win this_. A split-second later a lava slug knocked Hiccup's shield clear off of her arm. She was exposed.

"One shot left!" Gobber called as Ash thought _wait, why isn't she out?_ As she panicked and chased her shield as it rolled across the ring. The sudden movement sent the Gronckle chasing after her, leaving Ash in the clear.

"Hiccup!" Gobber called worriedly as the Gronckle drove straight toward Hiccup, pinning her against the wall. It opened its mouth and cocked its tail, ready to fire point-blank.

Gobber lunged in and hooked the Gronckle's mouth at the last second, causing its head to jerk back and fire against the stone wall above Hiccup's head.

"And that's six!" Gobber yelled, masking how worried he was. He wrestled the irate Gronckle back into her pen. "Go back to bed, ya overgrown sausage! You'll get another chance, don't you worry." Gobber locked the door and turned to the recruits.

"Remember... a dragon will always, _always_ go for the kill." He hoisted Hiccup to her feet and walked off. Hiccup looked overhead to see a steaming pit in the solid stone wall.


	3. Chance encounters and Cruel Classmates

Hiccup was battered after a disastrous day in the ring. She was studying the remnants of the discarded bola... she was back at the scene of the crime.

"So... why didn't you?" She muttered. She dropped the bola and pressed on in the direction the dragon flew off. She dropped into a rocky crevice and follows it to an... isolated cove complete with a pristine spring pool. She scanned the high stone walls... then notices a single black scale on the ground. She crouched and picked it up, studying it.

"Well this was stupid." She muttered. Suddenly, the Night Fury blasted past her. Hiccup recoiled, watching the massive beast struggle to climb the walls. It flapped violently, then peeled away to a rough landing. The dragon was trapped.

Hiccup grinned, excited to see it again, and slipped closer. She watched as the dragon, exhausted and frustrated, leapt into the air, beating its wings furiously. Again and again, it rolled and crashed heavily.

Hiccup pulled out a leather-bound book and flipped past drawings of weapons to a blank page. She sketched the dragon quickly, desperate to record the image.

The Fury clawed at the steep rock walls, trying climb out of the cove. It slipped and fell, hard, crushing several saplings. He rolled back to his feet and slowly crawled to the water's edge. He spotted fish in the shallow water and snapped at them... but came up empty. He lowered his head, looking weakened.

"Why don't you just... fly away?" She muttered. It was then that she spotted the problem. She adjusted her drawing, carefully erasing one half of the dragon's tail. She accidentally dropped the charcoal stick. It rolled off of the rock outcropping that hid her from view and bounced into the cove. She scraped the rope holding her hair up on the rock wall, allowing her hair to dangle down to the floor of the cove. The Night Fury raised his head, spotting her. They exchanged a profound, unflinching stare.

A storm was brewing outside. The great doors rattled on their hinges. Ash dug into his meal, ignoring the four idiots on her table.

"Alright. Where did Ash go wrong in the ring today?" He thought about it for a second, then replied,

"I mistimed my summersault dive. It was sloppy. It threw off my reverse tumble." Eye rolls from the group.

"Yeah. We noticed." Tuffnut quipped. Snotlout saw an opportunity and grabbed his hand.

"No, no, you were great. That was so 'Ash'." Ash groaned and shoved her off him, punching her in the face for good measure.

"She's right, you have to be tough on yourselves." Gobbler lectured.

The door creaked open. All eyes turned to Hiccup, entering the hall sheepishly. Gobber glared at her, noticing that the string in her hair had changed colour.

"Where did Hiccup go wrong?" She tried to take a seat at the table...

"She showed up."

"She didn't get eaten." ...but the recruits kept closing the gaps. Rolling her eyes, Hiccup sat at the vacant table next to them.

"She's never where she should be." Ash smiled at her, trying to offer constructive criticism.

"Thank you, Ash." Gobber smiled at the only person to offer a reasonable response. He stood. "You need to live and breathe this stuff." He laid a giant book in the center of the table. "The dragon manual. Everything we know about every dragon we know of." A rumble of thunder shook the hall. Rain poured down outside.

"No attacks tonight. Study up." Gobber ordered, exiting into the storm, leaving the teens staring at the book.

"Wait, you mean read?" Ruffnut gasped, a 'you've got to be kidding me' look on her face.

"While we're still alive?" Her twin questioned, equally shocked.

"Why read words when you can just kill the stuff the words tell you stuff about?" Snotlout punched her palm to get the message across.

"Oh! I've read it like, seven times. There's this water dragon that sprays boiling water at your face. And there's this other one that buries itself for like a week..." the teens stared as Fishlegs went on too long.

"There was a chance I was going to read that..." _since when, Ruffnut? _Ash questioned.

"...but now..." her twin continued as Snotlout got up to go.

"You guys read, I'll go kill stuff." She announced. The twins followed, with Fishlegs in tow.

"Oh and there's this other one that has these spines that look like trees..." she rambled as they walked off. Ash stayed to finish the last of his meal.

"So I guess we'll share-" Hiccup asked. Ash really wanted to but... training. Sleep.

"Read it." He pushed it toward her and left.

"All mine then. Wow, so okay. I'll SEE YOU-" Ash slammed the door behind him.

"...tomorrow." Hiccup sighed, knowing she had chores back home before she could do anything.

Hiccup opened the massive book. Thunder boomed outside, startling the few who were still awake at such an hour. The hall was vacant and dark, but for the few candles she'd pulled together.

Hiccup poured through page after page of strange and frightening dragons.

"Dragon classifications." She read aloud. "Strike class. Fear class. Mystery class." She turned the page.

"Thunderdrum. This reclusive dragon inhabits sea caves and dark tide pools. When startled, the Thunderdrum produces a concussive sound that can kill a man at close range. Extremely dangerous. Kill on sight." Hiccup's eyes drifted to a lurid illustration of decapitated Vikings.

Another page, another dragon.

"Timberjack. This gigantic creature has razor sharp wings that can slice through full grown trees... extremely dangerous. Kill on sight." Lightning flashed and the illustrations seemed to take on a life of their own, shifting and squirming in the candlelight.

"Scauldron. Sprays scalding water at its victim. Extremely dangerous." The storm outside raged against the shuttered windows. Hiccup was startled, but pressed on.

"Changewing. Even newly hatched dragons can spray acid. Kill on sight." She began flipping through the pages. A blur of dragons... "Gronckle. Zippleback. The Skrill. Boneknapper. Whispering Death. Burns its victims. Buries its victims. Chokes its victims. Turns its victims inside-out. Extremely dangerous. Extremely dangerous. Kill on sight. Kill on sight. Kill on sight..." Hiccup finally landed upon the page she'd been looking for.

"Night Fury." The page was blank - no image, save for a few sparse details. "Speed unknown. Size unknown. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. Never engage this dragon. Your only chance, hide and pray it does not find you." Hiccup pulled her sketchbook out of her vest and opened it to her drawing of the dragon in the cove. She lay it over the book's blank page and considered it.

People had been wrong about her for fourteen years.

What if they were wrong about the dragons too?


	4. Nadders and New friends

**Hey people! Sorry for the delay in publishing this, I was in Italy and didn't have my iPad to publish on. I missed three updates while I was away, so here's that catchup. Enjoy.**

A dragon painted onto a shield. Hiccup ran her finger over its outline.

"You know, I just happened to notice the book had nothing on Night Furies. Is there another book? Or a sequel? Maybe a little Night Fury pamphlet?"

A blast took the axe head off of Hiccup's hilt, leaving a smoking hole behind her. Hiccup yelped and ran.

"FOCUS Hiccup! You're not even trying!" A Deadly Nadder was loose in a maze-like arrangement of moveable walls within the training arena. Gobber called orders from above. "Today... is all about attack." The Nadder hopped from wall to wall, sending the recruits scurrying. "Nadders are quick and light on their feet. Your job is to be quicker and lighter. The teens moved in, stumbling over Hiccup and her unwieldy shield. The Nadder spotted Fishlegs' ample rear hiding behind a wall. It whipped its tail of spikes. Fishlegs screamed and lifted an entire wall to shield herself from the spray.

"I'm really beginning to question your teaching methods!" She yelled.

"Look for its blind spot." Gobber ordered. "Every dragon has one. Find it, hide in it, and strike."

Ruff and Tuff rushed in, diving and rolling up to the Nadder's nose. The Nadder sniffed the air - it couldn't see them. Tuff and Ruff were smashed together - too close for comfort.

"Do you ever bathe?" Tuff whispered.

"If you don't like it, then just get your own blind spot." Hiccup failed to see how that would help.

"How about I give you one!" Worst idea since Odin chose Ask and Embla to rule Midgard (seriously, he had to have been drunk. There's no other explanation!). Ruff and Tuff shoved each other until their movement and noise gave them away. The Nadder attacked, snapping at both of them. Gobber laughed as they just managed to dodge a blast

"Blind spot? Yes. Deaf spot? Not so much." Ash took the information to heart as Hiccup wandered up to Gobber while the others darted past.

"Hey, so how would one sneak up on a Night Fury?" She questioned.

"No one's ever met one and lived to tell the tale." Gobber told her. "Now get in there!"

"I know, I know, but hypothetically..."

"Hiccup!" Ash, hiding behind a nearby wall with Snotlout, put his finger to his lips and gestured for her to hide. A moment later, the Nadder leapt over the walls, surprising them by landing in front of them.

Ash somersaulted into its blind spot, confusing it. He reared back to strike - just as Snotlout leapt in, protectively sweeping Ash behind her.

"Watch out babe. I'll take care of this." She flirted.

"Hey!"

Snotlout missed. Ash glared at her, she'd just lost him his chance.

"The sun was in my eyes, Ash!" She argued densively. "What do you want me to do, block out the sun? I could do that, but I don't have time right now!" The Nadder tore off after him, knocking down walls in pursuit. He leapt and dived like a highly trained gymnast.

Hiccup wandered up to Gobber again.

"They probably take the daytime off. You know, like a cat. Has anyone ever seen one napping?"

"Hiccup!" Gobber yelled.

"Hiccup!" Ash yelped. Hiccup span around to see the maze walls collapsing like dominos toward her. Ash came flying through the dust and crash-landed on top of her, laying her out in a limb-tangled mess.

"Oooh! Love on the battlefield!" Ruffnut gloated.

"He could do better." Tuff countered.

The Nadder closed in, emerging through the cloud of dust. Hiccup tried to untangle herself.

"Just... let me... why don't you..." The Nadder span around and races back toward them like a Raptor.

Ash untangled himself - ignoring the Squish he felt under his hand - and tried to pull his axe from Hiccup's shield... which is attached to her limp, gangly arm.

He planted his foot on her stomach and yanked the axe free, still burrowed into the shield.

He span and swung the axe and shield, scoring a direct hit on the oncoming Nadder's nose. It yelped and scurries off.

"Well done, Ash." Gobber hobbled off to wrestle the Nadder back into her cave.

Hiccup got to her feet - all eyes were upon her. She turned to find Ash glaring at her, winded.

"Is this some kind of a joke to you?" He questioned. He didn't mean to sound harsh, but she needed to hear this. "Our parents' war is about to become ours. Figure out which side you're on." He grabbed his axe and stomped off. Hiccup watched, stung.

A fish... which was being thrown into the cove. It hit the ground and slid. A moment later, Hiccup peeked through a gap in the rock, looking around cautiously. Nothing.

She squeezed through and enters the cove.

A second later, Hiccup heard a snort from behind her. She turned to see the Night Fury, crouched on a rock like a stealthy panther. It descended, approaching her... ready to pounce.

Hiccup swallowed her fear and offered the fish. Doing so revealed the dagger at her waist. The dragon saw it and hissed. She reached for it, eliciting a growl. She paused, carefully lifted it by the handle, and tossed it away. The dragon calmed.

As it approaches the fish, Hiccup notices that it's missing teeth.

"Huh. Toothless. I could've sworn you had..." a set of razor sharp teeth emerged from its gums to grab the fish. It was snatched and gnashed up, then swallowed.

"...teeth." The teeth retracted again.

The dragon pressed closer with an expectant look. Hiccup retreated nervously.

"Uh, no." She protested. "No, I don't have any more." The Fury backs Hiccup against a rock, placing herself the same position as before. The dragon closes in over her, staring blankly.

A tense moment passed... then the Night Fury regurgitated a chunk of fish onto Hiccup's lap. They exchanged stares. Hiccup realised what he wanted her to do. She crouched slowly and squeamishly picked it up. The dragon waited expectantly. Hiccup gagged and gnawed off a bite of the slimy fish. She forced a smile. The dragon mimicked her.

Amazed, Hiccup sat up and tried to touch him. The Night Fury hissed and flapped off to crash on the other side of the cove. He blasted the mossy ground to a red-hot temperature... and curled up on it like a giant dog.

He turned to find the strange female squish with the long hair seated beside him. Nameless tolerated her persistent presence... until she tried to touch her damaged tail. Nameless snapped at her. The female took the hint and left. Nameless was glad - he could rest at last.

Several hours later (judging by the position of the sun), Nameless woke, hanging upside down from a tree. He looked around for the strange female squish with the long hair. For some reason, he hoped she'd stayed.

He spotted her sitting on the other side of the cove, dragging a stick through the sand.

What was she doing?

He carefully padded over, trying not to startle her. He looked at the pattern in the dirt and was surprised to see exactly the same image he saw when his face was reflected in water.

To capture the image of another living creature so accurately with nothing but a stick and some dirt... she had to be truly talented.

Maybe... maybe he could try to return the favour?

Nameless walked off. A moment later, he reappeared with an entire sapling, drawing lines in the sand. He rushed here and there, making haphazard lines in every direction.

Finally, he dropped the tree and inspected his work. He nodded, pleased.

The female squish stood and took in the sprawling scribble, amazed by it. She accidentally stepped onto one of the lines, eliciting an instant growl from Nameless. He drew her and she repaid the favour by standing on his drawing! She stepped on it again. The nerve!

Nameless growled again. Realising how sensitive he is, Hiccup stepped carefully between each line, turning round and round until she unwittingly bumped into him.

Nameless snorted. Once again, they're face to face. The strange female squish with the long hair slowly extended her hand. Nameless hesitated - did he really trust her?

The squish turned her head away and closed her eyes. She trusted him. A squish. A creature who was said to be a ruthless, blind killer trusted him.

Maybe she needed a friend as desperately as he did.

Maybe she was just as different, just as alone as he was.

He closed the gap and pressed his muzzle against her hand.

_I will call you Keena, _he decided, _because you are a strong and brave little squish. You deserve a name._

He slowly reached out a claw and sliced through the silly dry vine she used to hold up her hair. He stared in fascination as it spilled over the floor of the cove. He sniffed it - it wasn't normal, but it didn't feel - it didn't feel bad. It smelt like freshly caught fish, like his nest, like his mother and father and siblings and all that was good.

In a flash, the dragon was gone, leaving Hiccup astounded.

She walked away slowly, pausing at the entrance of the cove. She turned slowly to face the dragon watching her from a patch of trees.

"Thank you." She whispered, looking straight into those wide green eyes. "Toothless."

Then she turned around and walked out, her hair trailing behind her.

Nameless watched, stunned.

Wait, no. He was Nameless no longer. The strange squish had given him everything the Red Death had taken away.

A place to sleep where he did not live in constant fear of being eaten.

A food source that did not result in the death of countless dragons.

The ability to think for himself.

Someone to trust, someone to not have to constantly worry about being betrayed by.

But most of all, she had given him a name.

Toothless.

As strange as it was, he found the name oddly fitting.

"**N**o**." **He replied, barely audible even to his sensitive ears. "**T**hank _you_**."**


	5. Weirdos, Warnings and What on Midgard?

Gobber and the recruits were seated at the top of an abandoned catapult tower, toasting campfire food around a roaring bonfire.

"...and with one twist he took my hand and swallowed it whole." Gobbler related. Ash listened with rapt attention, searching for anything he could use to improve his own fighting. "And I saw the look on his face. I was delicious. He must have passed the word, because it wasn't a month before another one of them took my leg."

"Isn't it weird to think that your hand was inside a dragon. Like if your mind was still in control of it, you could have killed the dragon from the inside by crushing his heart or something." Fishlegs received many sidelong glances. _She's_ _so_ _weird_, Ash thought.

"I swear I'm so angry right now." Snotlout pushed in. "I'll avenge your beautiful hand and your beautiful foot. I'll chop off the legs of every dragon I fight, with my face." She postured to Ash. He rolled his eyes. _What_ _a_ _kiss-up_.

"Un-unh." Gobber tried to lecture with his mouth full. "It's the wings and the tails you really want. If it can't fly, it can't get away. A downed dragon is a dead dragon." _Very_ _useful_, Ash thought. He noticed Hiccup's eyes widen with shock and worry for a half-second before she busied herself with her fish.

Gobber stood and stretched.

"Alright. I'm off to bed." Gobber announced. "You should be too. Tomorrow we get into the big boys. Slowly but surely making our way up to the Monstrous Nightmare." His voice became playful and taunting. "But who'll win the honour of killing it?"

He hobbled off, gesturing for Hiccup to follow when she could so that the others didn't see. The teens reflected.

"It's gonna be me." Ruffnut announced confidently. "It's my destiny. See?" She rolled up her sleeve to reveal a red dragon on her arm. Fishlegs gasped.

"Your mom let you get a tattoo?"

"It's not a tattoo. It's a birthmark." Ruffnut countered.

"Okay, I've been stuck with you since birth, and that was never there before." Her twin pointed out.

"Yes it was." Ruffnut argued defensively. "You've just never seen me from the left side until now."

"It wasn't there yesterday. Is it a birthmark or a today-mark?" Ash was no longer listening to Snotlout's blabbering. Hiccup had gotten up and walked away from the group. He peered over the edge of the walkway and saw her walk up to Gobber. An idea struck him.

Hiccup was Gobber's apprentice, and Gobber was teaching the dragon training class. He might be trying to give her a head start. Ash snuck down the stairs and pressed himself to the wall, listening to the tail end of their conversation.

"...twice in as many days, Hiccup! You're getting sloppy! Gods be damned, you know what would happen if anyone found out!"

"I'm sorry, Gobber. I was trying to train and I cut them on some rocks."

"Twice?!"

"Yes."

"By Thor, Hiccup, that's not good enough! I don't care what it takes, nobody knows. Got it?"

"Yes, Gobber."

"Now get yerself home, understand. And nothing - I repeat, _nothing_ \- happens to _that_. Nothing at all. Understand?"

"Yes, Gobber."

A very confused Ash was left after their footsteps receded in opposite directions.

Hiccup entered a small room off of her main cave room. It was covered in drawings of weaponry and scale models. She lit a candle and lay her sketchbook out on the desk, opening it to the drawing of Toothless.

With a look of determination, Hiccup picked up a charcoal stick and re-drew the missing tail.

Hiccup arrived at the hidden cove, winded, straining under the weight of a full basket. By the position of the sun, it was obviously the following morning. She clicked the scale she'd found. Toothless approached, sniffing her.

"Hey, Toothless." She greeted. "I brought breakfast. I hope you're hungry." Hiccup dropped the basket and kicked it over. Fish spilled out.

"Okay, that's disgusting." Toothless approached, settling in to devour the feast. He gave Keena an odd look - the feast she laid out wasn't disgusting, it looked delicious!

"Uh.. we've got some salmon..." Toothless swallowed it, "... some nice Icelandic cod..." swallowed those too, "... and a whole smoked eel!" Toothless nabbed it, chewed a few times, then spat it out. He shook his head violently, snorting and scrubbing his massive tongue on the sand. Hiccup took note.

"No, no, no! It's okay. Yeah, I don't like eel much either." She confessed as Toothless focused on the remainder of the fish. With the dragon distracted, Hiccup untied her hair, wrapping the tie round her wrist.

"Okay." She murmured. "That's it. That's it, just stick with good stuff. And don't you mind me. I'll just be back... here. Minding my own business..."

Hiccup cautiously approached the injured tail, but every time she got near it, Toothless swept it away like a cat.

"It's okay." Hiccup dropped a knee on top of the tail. Toothless' head jutted up, slowing his chewing to a halt.

"Okay... okay..." she murmured, wrapping her hair round the wound. Then she sighed, muttered, "Please work..." and started to sing.

**_"F_****_lower,_** **_gleam_** **_and_** **_glow,"_** As she sang, Hiccup's hair began to glow gold at the roots. The colour slowly spread along, eventually covering her entire length of hair in softgolden light. **_"Let_** **_your_** **_power_** **_shine._**

**_Make_** **_the_** **_clock_** **_reverse,_**

**_Bring_** **back** **_what_** **_once_** **_was_** **_mine._**

**_Heal_** **_what_** **_has_** **_been_** **_hurt,_**

**_Change_** _**the**_ **_Fates'_** _**design.**_

**_Save_** **_what_** _**has**_ **_been_** **_lost._**

**_Bring_** **_back_** **_what_** **_once_** **_was_** **_mine..._**

**_What_** **_once_** **_was_** **_mine."_**

Hiccup slowly unwrapped her hair from the now-larger area it was looped over.

Where there had once been nothing, a tailfin now lay.

Toothless wiggled his tail. His wings dropped and his eyes widened. He heard Keena yell in joy, but there was only one thing running through his mind.

_I_ _have_ _both_ _tailfins?_

_I_ _have_ _both_ _tailfins_.

_I_ _have_ _both_ _tailfins!_

Toothless bolted. He snapped his massive wings and took to the air, carrying Keena with him.

"Woah! No! No! No!" She screeched, struggling to hold on to the tail. As the ground sped away, Toothless arced just short of the water and climbed... high into the air.

"Yes! Yes, I did it!" He glanced back at Keena, busily trying to hold on. No, no, no, no, she'd get hurt if she rode him like that!

With one quick flick, she was in the water.

"AAAAAGGGGHHHHH!" She bounced across the water's surface and took a dive.

Toothless did the same, plunging in a massive cannonball.

Hiccup resurfaced, roughed up but beaming. Toothless appeared seconds later.

"Yeah!" She squealed.

Once they were both out of the water, Toothless walked over and sniffed her hair again.

How could he not have noticed before - this little squish was The Sundrop (AKA one of the most powerful things on Midgard, and quite possibly the only thing that could neutralise the second-biggest threat faced by dragon kind).

He had to protect her, he had to take her to The Moonstone.

But she was saying that she had to go, that she'd be back as soon as possible if he wanted to stick around.

Toothless wasn't going anywhere.

Not when his Keena needed him.

"Today is about teamwork." Gobber instructed. "Work together and you might survive."

Gas seeped through the cracks in a double-wide door.

It blasted open. A cloud of smoke engulfed the ring, swirling around the paired-up teens. Ash with Tuffnut. Snotlout with Ruffnut. Fishlegs with Hiccup. All carried buckets of water, and were poised to throw them.

"Now, a wet dragon head can't light its fire." Gobber lectured. "The Hideous Zippleback is extra tricky. One head breathes gas, the other head lights it. Your job is to know which is which."

The smoke encircled them, cutting them off from each other. The teens listen and watched for any sign of the dragon. Fishlegs was muttering to herself.

"Razor sharp, serrated teeth that inject venom for pre-digestion. Prefers ambush attack, crushing its victims in its..."

"Will you please stop that?" Hiccup hissed angrily.

"Meanwhile, Snotlout and Ruffnut were moving nervously through the fog, back to back. Snotlout was singing to herself to calm her nerves.

"If that dragon shows either of his faces, I'm gonna-" she spotted an approaching shape and yelped, terrified, "-there!"

Snotlout and Ruffnut hurled their water into the fog.

"Hey!" Ash shouted, incredulous.

"It's us, idiots." Tuffnut groaned.

Ash and Tuff were soaked.

"Your butts are getting bigger." Ruffnut teased. "We thought you were a dragon!"

"Not that there's anything wrong with a dragon-esque figure-" Snotlout was cut off as Ash elbowed her in the face. Tuffnut dropped Ruffnut with a punch to the throat.

"Wait." Ash held out a hand in warning. They froze. A tail swept out of the fog, taking them down. Their buckets spilt.

Hiccup and Fishlegs came across them. They saw the puddles of spilled water seconds before Ruffnut ran out in front of them.

"Oh, I'm hurt. I am very much hurt."

"Chances of survival are dwindling into single digits now..." Fishlegs murmured.

"Look out!" Hiccup warned as a Zippleback head emerged out of the smoke. Fishlegs hurled her water at it, completely dousing the head. It leered and opened its mouth, spewing gas into the area.

"Oh. Wrong head." Fishlegs whimpered. Gas flowed around their legs. Fishlegs fled in a panic.

"Fishlegs!" Gobber called.

A clicking sound came from behind them. Sparks flashed in the smoke. "Now, Hiccup!"

The other head swept out of the smoke. Hiccup hurled her water with all her might. It arced and dropped short of the dragon's sparking mouth. The dragon grinned, savoring the kill.

"Oh, come on!" Hiccup groaned.

"RUN, HICCUP!" Gobber ordered, covering his eyes. "Hiccup!"

The Zippleback hesitated. Then it sniffed. Then retreated.

The teens got to their feet, transfixed. Gobber peeked through his fingers to see the Zippleback backing away from Hiccup. She stood and held her hands out, as if controlling it.

"BACK! BACK! BACK! Now don't you make me tell you again!" She ordered. The Zippleback retreated through its door and into its cave, hissing. "Yes, that's right. Back into your cage."

Hiccup slyly opened her vest, revealing the spotted, smoked eel from earlier. She tossed it inside the door, then slammed it shut.

"Now think about what you've done." She chastised, turning to the teens and Gobber. They stared, slack-jawed.

"Okay!" She questioned awkwardly, "So are we done? Because I've got some things I need to..." Hiccup jogged out of the ring, past the speechless group. "...yep... see you tomorrow!"

"What... on... Midgard...?"

Ash sneered.

_Something's_ _not_ _quite_ _right_ _here._


	6. Training, Trouble and Travelling

Hiccup appeared before Toothless, pulling out her hair tie and smiling. He ran off as she chased him down.

"Hey!" She pulled out a length of hair and used it as a whip, attaching it to Toothless and resulting in them crashing into the wall of the cove. They stood up, laughing.

Toothless offered Keene his back, gesturing for her to climb on. She had given him flight.

The least he could do was return the favour.

Hiccup's eyes went wide.

Toothless... he wanted to take her flying. To set her free from those rules she'd lived by all her life.

He cared for her, he was the first friend she'd ever had.

And she'd take every gift he gave her.

"_**Seems like I've spent my whole life hoping.**_

_**Dreaming of things I've never tried.**_

_**Tangled in knots just waiting for my time to shine.**_

_**What if the doors began to open?**_

_**What if the knots became untied?**_

_**What if one day, nothing stood in my way and the world was mine?**_

_**Would it feel this fine?" **_She slowly walked forward, a hand out and touching the scales on his back. "_**'Cause I got the wind in my hair and a gleam in my eyes and an endless horizon." **_She leapt onto Toothless' back and held on to the top of his wings. "_**I got a smile on my face and I'm walking on air!**_

_**And everything life oughta be,**_

_**It's all gonna happen to me out there.**_

_**And I'll find it, I swear!**_

_**With the wind in my hair!" **_He pushed off the ground. They zoomed around the island and Hiccup screamed in joy. "_**So many roads I've yet to travel. So many friends I haven't met." **_She sang, waving to the dragons resting far below. "_**So many new adventures just around the bend! Plenty of mysteries to unravel. Tons of mistakes to not regret!**_

_**So much to see, and to do and to be a whole life to spend!**_

_**And it doesn't end!**_

_**And I got the wind in my hair and a song in my heart and the fun's only starting.**_

_**I got a skip in my step and I haven't a care." **_She threw her arms back, revelling in the wind that pulled her hair off her face and sent it streaming back behind her. "_**A beautiful breeze blowing through, it's gonna carry me who knows where!**_

_**I'll take any dare,**_

_**With the wind in my hair!" **_She stood up onto his back, her bare feet finding purchase against his smooth scales. "_**I got a smile on my face and I'm walking on air!" **_She laughed as she walked along each wing, feeling weightless. "_**And everything life ought be...**_

_**But I know that it's waiting for me out there!**_

_**And I'll find it, I swear.**_

_**With the wind in my hair!"**_ Hiccup and Toothless zipped through the air. But Toothless still wasn't used to a rider, so they crash-landed in an open field. Hiccup recovered to find Toothless still rolling around in the tall grass. She named the plant 'dragon-nip' because Toothless was writhing on his back, tongue wagging, in complete bliss.

The following morning at the training grounds, Ash was very focused. He would not lose to Hiccup again.

Hiccup grabbed the head as instructed, then discreetly pulled out a fistful of 'dragon-nip' and pressed it up to the Gronkle's nose. It immediately stopped struggling and went weak in the knees. Hiccup dropped the handful of dragon-nip to the ground.

The Gronkle went down with it, whimpering and blissful.

From Ash and the recruits' point of view, Hiccup was controlling the Gronkle with no more than a limp arm. His eyes narrowed - how had she beaten him _again?_

The recruits walked home together, surrounding Hiccup and bombarding her with questions.

"Hey Hiccup, I've never seen a Gronckle to that before."

"How'd you do that?"

"It was really cool!" She squirmed and invented an excuse. "You guys go on ahead and I'll catch up with you." Ash watched, suspicious.

Something didn't add up.

Later that day, Hiccup was back in the cove with Toothless. She rubbed him behind the ear, causing him to relax.

"**P**erfect... yes, that's right... goodness Keena, you're good at this... yes, there, right where I can't reach..**."** she reached under his jaw and gave him another scratch.

He collapsed in pure bliss.

The following morning, they were in the training ground again. An angry Deadly Nadder was approaching Hiccup. Just as Ash moved in to strike, Hiccup performed her special rubbing technique, which sent the Nadder down. Ash dropped his axe in shock.

Hiccup went to the great hall for lunch - she hadn't had a midday meal since dragon training had started, as she had always been headed straight to Toothless. She sat down at a table to eat. The other recruits noticed her and moved over to her table to talk to her - leaving Ash alone.

"Hey Hiccup!" Fishlegs greeted.

"What was that? Some kind of trick? What did you do?" Snotlout questioned.

"Hiccup, you're totally going to come in first, there's no question." Ruffnut stated.

The following morning, Hiccup was hammering away at a clasp for the flying outfit she was developing. The reflection of sunlight off the hammer created a patch of light on the ground. Toothless clawed and chased the light patch like a cat.

A beam lifted from the door of another dragon pen.

"Meet the Terrible Terror!" Gobber called. A tiny, pint-sized dragon stepped out and moved toward the recruits.

"Ha. It's like the size of my-" Tuffnut was taken down in a blur." Get it off! Get it off! Oh! I'm hurt, I am very much hurt! Hiccup stopped the Terrible Terror with the same light-patch trick she used earlier with Toothless. The tiny dragon retreated back to it's cage. The teens approached her yet again as Ash looked on with suspicion.

"Wow, she's better than you ever were." Tuffnut told Ash.

A few minutes later, Ash was furiously hurling his axe at a nearby tree. He noticed Hiccup walking by in the distance, carrying one of her flight outfits. He quickly tried to follow, but he lost her in the woods.

He huffed, frustrated.

A lone, battered ship was pulled into a slip, overloaded with equally battered-looking men and women. They disembarked to a crowd of onlookers, looking like a team of hometown heroes who just had their butts kicked.

Gobber hobbled through the mumbling crowd to find Stoick - last to disembark and glowering with battered pride.

"Where are the other ships?" Someone asked.

"You don't want to know." Spitelout (Snotlout's father and the wife of Stoick's sister) replied.

Stoick lumbered past Gobber, leaving him staring at the trashed ship.

"Well, I trust you found the nest at least?"

"Not even close."

"Ah. Excellent." Gobber followed Stoick up the ramp and snagged his duffle bag with his hook appendage, sharing the burden.

"I hope you had a little more success than me."

"Well, if by success, you mean that your parenting troubles are over with, then... yes."

Stoick stopped. _What did that mean?_

A group of merry villagers rushed past.

"Congratulations Stoick! Everyone is so relieved!" One called.

"Out with the old and in with the new, right?!" Another asked.

"No one will miss that old nuisance!"

"The village is throwing a party to celebrate!" Stoick was stunned, overwhelmed by the insensitivity. He turned to Gobber.

"She's... gone?"

"Yeah... most afternoons. But who can blame her? I mean the life of a celebrity is very rough. She can barely walk through the village without being swarmed by his new fans."

Stoics was doubly confused.

"Hiccup?"

"Who would've thought, eh?" Gobbler asked, beaming. "She has this... way with the beasts."

Hiccup lay down on Toothless, clinging to him and flattening herself to his back to make them as streamlined as possible. They twirled through the clouds (Hiccup had discovered that they weren't solid at all - they were made of _water. Water!_) and flew low enough that Hiccup's hair became wet as she dragged her fingers through the seafoam.

They slowed to a stop on a small, uninhabited island. Toothless left her on the beach as he dived into the water, coming back with a mouthful of fish.

Hiccup and Toothless lounged on a sprawling, deserted beach, snacking on the freshly caught fish. As Hiccup cooked hers over a fire, Toothless suddenly regurgitated a fish head. Hiccup smirked with forced politeness.

"Uh... no thanks." She gestured to her fish on a stick. "I'm good."

Several Terrible Terrors landed like seagulls, hissing and nipping at each other as they approached Toothless' pile of fish.

One grabbed the regurgitated fish head and dragged it away. Another attempted to steal it from him. They faced off and blasted fireballs at each other to settle the fight. Hiccup and Toothless watched, amused. That is until...

Toothless spotted one of his fish leaving the pile. A stealthy Terrible Terror was exposed as the thief. They tugged on the fish, and it snapped back into Toothless' mouth. He swallowed it back tauntingly.

Irate, the little dragon pawed at the ground and got ready to blast Toothless. He opened his mouth, the gas hiss comes, and Toothless fired a tiny flame straight into its mouth, causing the gas to backfire into the little dragon. It coughed up smoke and staggered away, looking ill. Hiccup laughed.

"Not so fireproof on the inside, are you?" Hiccup threw the hapless Terror one of Toothless' fish. "Here you go." The appreciative little dragon gulped down the meal and approached Hiccup cautiously. He curled up next to her. Hiccup was amazed.

"Everything we know about you guys is wrong." Toothless sent her a look full of pain and understanding.

That evening, storm clouds rolled in. Hiccup knew that they wouldn't make it back to Berk before the skies opened, so she steered them towards a small market island. She left Toothless hidden in the trees as she walked into the village, hair tied up. She spotted an inn - The Snuggly Duckling - and walked inside, hoping to shelter from the rain that was starting to fall.

Inside, she found quite the scene - all of the pub's occupants with their weapons drawn and yelling obscenities. The target of their anger? A boy about her age, cowering near the doorway.

"Woah, whoa, whoa, wait, stop. Haven't any of you ever had a dream?"

All eyes in the room turned to her.

One of the thugs - a bald man with a hooked hand - walked towards her angrily, and axe coughed in his hand. She cowered backwards, wondering if interrupting was actually a good idea.

He stopped in front of her, looking as though he was going to run her through. He looked to the side pensively.

"I had a dream, once." He admitted.

He threw the axe, and it sliced off the minstrel's hat. He instantly started playing.

"_**I'm malicious, mean and scary.**_

_**My sneer could curdle dairy.**_

_**And violence-wise my hands are not the cleanest.**_

_**But despite my evil look and my temper and my hook... I've always yearned to be a concert pianist.**_

_**Can't you see me on the stage performing Mozart?**_

_**Tickling the ivories till they gleam!**_

_**Yep, I'd rather be called deadly for my killer show-tune medley!**_

_**'Cause way down deep inside I've got a dream," **_he hopped onto the piano stool and Hiccup smiled, prompting everyone else in the pub to join in.

"_**He's got a dream!**_

_**He's got a dream!"**_

"_**See, I ain't as cruel and vicious as I seem!**_

_**Though I do like breaking femurs, you can count me with the dreamers. **_

_**Like everybody else, I've got a dream!" **_Another man with a huge nose and bird wings on his helmet took up the song

"_**I've got scars and lumps and bruises,**_

_**Plus something here that oozes!**_

_**And let's not even mention my complexion...**_

_**But despite my extra toes, and my goiter, and my nose,**_

_**I really want to make a love connection!**_

_**Can't you see me with a special little lady?**_

_**Rowing in a rowboat down a stream!**_

_**Though I'm one disgusting blighter I'm a lover, not a fighter!**_

_**'Cause way down deep inside I've got a dream!**_

_**I've got a dream!"**_

"_**He's got a dream!"**_

"_**I've got a dream!"**_

"_**He's got a dream!"**_

"_**And I know one day romance will reign supreme!**_

_**Though my face leaves people screaming, there's a child behind it dreaming!**_

_**Like everybody else, I've got a dream!"**_

"_**Toll would like to quit and be a florist!" **_Someone yelled.

"_**Gunter does interior design!" **_Another person informed the rest of the pub.

"_**Urf is into mime!"**_

"_**Attila's cupcakes are sublime!"**_

"_**Bruiser knits!"**_

"_**Killer sews!"**_

"_**Ven does little puppet shows!" **_

"_**And Vladimir collects ceramic unicorns!" **_A huge man in a bearskin cloak delicately clinked two ceramic unicorns together. Then the group simultaneously turned to the boy they had been harassing earlier.

"What about you?" The man with the hook hand asked.

"I'm sorry, me?" He replied, confused.

"What's your dream?" The man with the big nose asked him.

"No, no, no, sorry boys. I don't sing."

Every weapon in the pub was suddenly turned on him.

"_**I have dreams like you, no really!**_

_**Just much less... touchy-feely,**_

_**They mainly happen somewhere warm and sunny.**_

_**On an island that I own,**_

_**Tanned and rested and alone...**_

_**Surrounded by enormous piles of money!" **_Hiccup decided to step up to the plate.

"_**I've got a dream!"**_

"_**She's got a dream!"**_

"_**I've got a dream!"**_

"_**She's got a dream!"**_

"_**I just want to see the world and it's extremes!**_

_**And with every passing hour I'm so glad I left my village!**_

_**Like all you lovely folks, I've got a dream!"**_

It was at this point that someone decided to spice it up with tricks and death-defying displays. Soon, everyone joined in.

"_**She's got a dream! **_

_**She's got a dream!**_

_**They got a dream!**_

_**We've got a dream!**_

_**So our differences ain't really that extreme!**_

_**We're one big team...!**_

_**Call us brutal,**_

_**Sick,**_

_**Sadistic,**_

_**And grotesquely optimistic!**_

_**'Cause way down deep inside we've got a dream!" **_Someone at the bar started handing out mugs of mead.

"_**I've got a dream!"**_

"_**I've got a dream!"**_

"_**I've got a dream!"**_

"_**I've got a dream!"**_

"_**I've got a dream!"**_

"_**I've got a dream!"**_

"_**Yes, way down deep inside, I've got a dream!"**_

"_**Yeah!" **_Everyone three their mugs in the air as they sang their last line.

The atmosphere in the pub was much happier as the occupants continued to wait out the storm.

The boy who had been harassed earlier walked over to Hiccup's table and smiled at her.

"That was pretty good earlier. I think you saved my life."

"Everyone has something good in them. You just have to find it."

"Wise words for someone my age... or at least, I think you're my age. How old are you?"

"Fourteen." She answered, taking a swig from her tankard.

"I'm fifteen." He replied. "Look... I came over here to thank you and to say that if you ever need anything, come find me."

"That's not necessary."

"According to my people's culture, I owe you a life debt. So yes, it is necessary."

"Well, I can't exactly find you if I don't even know your name, can I?" She pointed out.

"Heath." He held out a hand. "Heath Madison."

She smiled, and took the hand he offered.

"Hiccup. Hiccup Haddock."

A few hours later, the rain had cleared and Hiccup headed out into the twilight.

"You sure you're gonna be okay? We have rooms for rent here." She smiled, they were genuinely mice people but her tribe was actually starting to worry about her and therefore would notice if she wasn't in the village overnight.

"I have places to be, but I'll be back as soon as I am able."

"Glad to hear it, Hiccup."

Smiling wider than she ever had to another human, she nodded and walked away, grinning like an idiot.

Toothless wasn't sure why his Keena was so happy, but he would be sure to thank whoever caused it later on.


End file.
